Kauai- Day Three, Visiting the Lighthouse

Aloha!
Well, I really truly wished that I had invested in an underwater camera today.


The day began in the usual way, we sat and talked about where to go and what to do. We decided to drive to the northernmost point of Kauai (and all of Hawaii, I believe) to the Kilauea Wildlife Reserve and Lighthouse! The reserve is a place where native plants and animals are protected by the wildlife service of Hawaii. We saw Albatross, Wedge-Tailed Shearwaters, and Hawaii's state bird- the Nēnē, a Hawaiian goose. So... basically we saw a LOT of birds that were not chickens.

Nēnē

The lighthouse

The sea cliffs

 It was hot up there, but for the most part we had lots of fun! There was a nice breeze, and it was an educational trip.
       Next we decided to start driving west to see what we could see. We went from Kilauea Point to a little beach called Anini Beach. This is where my regret about the camera began. We wanted to go snorkeling, because we spoke with a man and his daughter about how they had seen sea turtles in the water. Well, sea turtles we found! Not only sea turtles, but coral reefs that were shaped like giant tires with lots and lots of beautiful colorful fish swimming about them. If you want to try snorkeling in Kauai- this is the best place we've found yet! Also, it would be a good place to bring children, as the water is calmer than other places due to the concave shape of the shore. Unfortunately, this is where my camera battery died. However, the only things we did other than snorkeling was driving around and checking out little towns. Princeville was a bland condo town with a shopping center that had no chickens wandering the premises, and since chickens are practically everywhere on Kauai, it makes me wonder what happened to them. The next town, Hanalei, was kind of cute, but small. We had fun wandering around and searching for souvenirs for loved ones.
 Sorry I don't have more to report, the loss of my camera + lots of travel time made it a slow day. I should have some more tidbits tomorrow!
Mahalo for reading!

Kauai- Day Two, Chickens

 Aloha Again!
       It is I, your faithful Kauai guide! I am still having a blast on the island- and I have so much more to share with you from yesterday (I would have updated then, but I was exhausted)! First of all, I've been waking up every morning these last three days at 7am to document the sunrise (@7:18) outside our bad ass hotel room, and I thought it was high time I share one of these photos with you! 

Breathtaking, no?I think so, which is why I've been dragging my sorry butt out of bed to see it every day. Those of you who know me, will know that being awake is not one of my strong suits.
       Every day, after we watch the sunrise, my parents and I sit and chat about what we're going to do for that day. Yesterday, we decided to play it by ear. We thought we might check out a near by waterfall that a guy selling coconuts at the farmer's market told us about, and maybe go to the beach or do some driving around. So, off we went in our rental car (highly recommended, by the way. Kauai is small, but there isn't any great public trans.) to Opaekaa Falls! We drove up a winding mountain road to a scenic viewing point, and what did we find?

Flock of hens

       Well... chickens. Lots of brightly colored chickens, and roosters. Now, I had heard that Kauai has wild chickens milling about all over the place, but we had yet to encounter any until yesterday. Since then, we've seen at least 50 different chickens wandering around. Apparently, years and years ago, domestic chickens were brought to Kauai, and their cages were destroyed during a big storm. The chickens set out into the wilderness, and with no natural predators, 12 months of summer, and bountiful food they multiplied and bred with native birds to create what I like to call "Rainbow Super Chickens"! And boy were they noisy!     

                                                                    
       Ever since our first encounter with the Chickens, my dad keeps muttering about how he's going to hide in the bushes with a burlap sack, so he can catch and eat chickens whenever he feels like it. My mom and I keep trying to remind him, that he would probably get chicken worms in addition to being arrested.
       Oh yeah! We also saw the waterfall! It was pretty far away from where we stopped the car, but we were told that trying to hike down to it could be dangerous because there are no trails. I'm sure there's a way, but we didn't stick around to discover it. Fortunately I have quite a mighty camera lens with me.

Close up of the falls

The falls cascades into the Wailua River- which used to be reserved for Hawaiian royalty. In modern times it is a popular kayaking River... hmmm perhaps this is where we will have our kayaking adventure?
       After stopping at Opaekaa Falls we decided to take a drive further up the road. It took us through some beautiful forest scenery and into several residential neighborhoods where chickens wandered freely, and people were growing bananas and coconuts in their yards. The road ended in a pretty little grassy park. We turned around around to find a beach, as it was getting particularly hot. Earlier in the day, we had rented scuba equipment from Snorkel Bob's (a small chain of snorkel rental stores in Hawaii) but since then I've discovered that you can get a better deal on renting from Nukumoi Surf Company (http://www.nukumoisurf.com). We took our gear to the infamous Poipu Beach on the South shore of the island to test it out.

Poipu is split into two lagoons

      Poipu is certainly the epitome of the typical tropical beach. White sand, swaying palms, gorgeous ocean views, etc. However, it was slightly crowded. It was also an obvious tourist destination. Now- we are tourists here in Hawaii, but if you're looking for something a bit more genuine to what the native people experience- perhaps Poipu is not for you.
       We went snorkeling on the right side of the beach (on your right when you face the ocean) and there were swarms of beautifully colored fish! I wish I had a waterproof camera to show you, but I just can't bring myself to take icky grainy photos with a cheap disposable. The coral was less spectacular than the fish- the underwater landscape was a bit gray with little splashes of pink and white here and there, but the experience of snorkeling is always fun.
       When I resurfaced I found that the local lifeguard had roped off an endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal! These are the largest native Hawaiian mammal, and its rare to see them! Hawaii is very proactive in maintaining and trying to preserve their unique environment, so whenever a seal is spotted on the beach, it is roped off so people won't disturb it. The seals look a lot like the black volcanic rocks littering the shores of Kauai's beaches.

Close up of seal (also in photo above)

 
When we'd had our fill of the beach, we did some shopping for souvenirs at the Kukui ula Village shopping center, and headed out to explore more of the coastal countryside. We drove through a cute little town called Waimea where we had dinner (nowhere worth mentioning). Then, on our was back we stopped at several scenic spots to take photos and enjoy the scenery! We also found a local beach where people were surfing and enjoying themselves in the sunset!

Local girl skim boarding

Local guy holding skim board

Surfer emerging from the waves

Kauai- Day One, Loco Moco Farmer's Market

Aloha!
       We finally made it to Hawaii, and it is beautiful! I'm writing from the end of our first day here, so let me catch you up on our journey and what we've been doing so far. Our flight left from Seattle at 4pm on Monday. However, my mother had some work to do from her laptop, and since she's the person who payed for our flight and hotel, we showed up four- yes four hours early for our flight. I'm not the most patient person (especially when it comes to waiting for something exciting) so I proceeded to get increasingly intoxicated on expensive airport liquor. This, I do not recommend. I'm fairly sure I spent a good hour and a half staring confoundedly at the magazines before drunkenly and halfheartedly choosing one that had about two dozen pictures of smoothies on it.
       Usually, depending on the season and airport, you should allow yourself about an hour or two for security and bag check. Unless, of course, you're traveling for Christmas, then ah... well good luck. We finally boarded our plane on time (by this point I had sobered up a bit) and began our six hour flight to the Lihue (pronounced Līhuʻe) airport. I sat in the middle... yay. We flew Alaska Airlines, and they charged us a $15 bag check fee (grrr.) If you can, I would suggest flying with Southwest Airlines, as they allow each person TWO free checked bags, which is nice. There is no wifi for about 5 1/2 hours of the flight (because the plane is over open ocean). They gave us free mai tais toward the end of the flight, which is a nice gesture, but made me sick to my stomach later. The trip was boring and long and cramped, but no worries- we didn't come to Hawaii for the plane trip.
       The first thing I noticed when we landed and disembarked the plane (around 8pm local time), was that the airport was hot and humid and lacking air conditioning, but most places in Hawaii are. Also- everything was open air- which is very different from buildings in the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, instead of listing things in English followed by Spanish, signs will first show English followed by Japanese! But moving on to less mundane topics...
       We got our rental car and headed off to our hotel- the Kapa'a Shores Resort Condominiums. My parents are part of a "resort share" program that is similar to timeshare, and each unit across the country that they've stayed at has a full kitchen. This is very cool, because it allows you to make your own meals from local foods. I highly recommend seeking out lodgings with kitchen space if your budget allows. We arrived and checked the place out- it is a one bedroom unit, full kitchen, Murphy bed in the living room (guess who gets to sleep here?), with a lanai (Hawaiian for patio?) that looks across a beautiful ocean view with a little rocky beach... incredible. It was too dark to really see when we arrived, but I woke up with the sun this morning to get some pictures!

The sun rising over the Pacific

The little beach outside our hotel (not a swimming beach)

 














Not too shabby, eh? The sand on our beach is an orangey-red hue because the soil on Kauai is red. They even make shirts that are called "red dirt shirts" that they dye using the pigments in the soil. I definitely plan on getting one for the ol' boyfriend who is currently freezing his rear off in Seattle.
       My mom joined me to watch the sunrise, and to see the little 
crabs scuttling madly around on the sand, and then we went inside and made breakfast (Kitchen! Woo hoo!). However, we found our breakfast severely lacking in the tropical fruit department, so we got dressed and went in search of a farmer's market. My dad chose today to lay around in the sun and read, so he was left behind. We hopped in our rental car and were only driving about 5 minutes  when we came across a local farmer's market in the parking lot of the Coconut Market shopping center. It had the same feel of a farmer's market back home, but the goods for sale were much more unique! Imagine getting a bouquet of tropical flowers for six bucks! How about three starfruit for one dollar? Check it out-

The market

Our market spoils!

            

                    Needless to say we were totally thrilled with our discovery! After we came back an unloaded our purchases, we located a K Mart so I could get some sandals and a swimming suit. Then we went to the grocery store to stock up on some basic food stuffs that we couldn't find at the market (just FYI, Hawaiian grocery stores run out of things periodically that they can't replace super quickly because a lot of things need to be imported... like milk). Then we checked out the local liquor store to stock up on out pina colada fixings. After this is when we stumbled upon another amazing food discovery- Waipouli Restaurant, Home Cooking. This little hole in the wall restaurant has some of the most amazing food. Its a little Hawaiian style diner that serves up some of the best local cuisine on the island (or so a tour guide sitting near by told us) and after trying my Ono (Hawaiian fish), rice, and pork tofu- I must say that I am inclined to believe him. Hawaiian food is interesting, because it contains a blend of Asian, American, and Polynesian ingredients. One of the dishes on the menu that caught my eye was called the "loco moco". Since there were no descriptions of the food under the names of the plates, I asked our server about it. She told me that the loco moco consists of two scoops of rice, topped with a hamburger patty, one over easy fried egg, and a hefty piling of gravy. This is Hawaiian food in a nutshell.
       This place, its culture, and the environment here are absolutely enchanting and enticing! Just breathing the air here refreshes your soul. After we got back from our escapades, I floated around in the pool and stared at the clouds and palms- just mediating on how fortunate I am to be here in this beautiful place! I hope tomorrow brings as much, or more excitement and surprise as today did! I can't wait to see what's next! Until then!
 Mahalo!

Kauai, Research and Development

      Since my last post I've been reading a lot about the upcoming destination. Apparently Kauai is the granny island of Hawaii- its the oldest island of all the islands. It is also the island that is the farthest North, so its like the island that Santa would go to on vacation. Maybe I'll see old St. Nick while I'm there... or maybe I'll just see my dad and mistake him for Santa like everyone else does.
 

My Dad next to the Columbia R.

 Known as the "garden isle" Kauai has large amount of erosion to form high jagged ocean cliffs, and lush jungle growth that spreads over the entire island. There are also several rivers that end in grand waterfalls (which is something that I'm really excited about). In fact, Some parts of the island are so densely wooded that they're only accessible by sea or air.
       I wrote previously about wanting to do some kayaking while I'm in Kauai, so I've been thinking a lot about what kind of kayaking I want to do- coastal or river? I've been leaning toward coastal, but because there are so many beautiful rivers on Kauai, I've started to research river kayaking as well. The Wailua River is at the top of my list. It's located on the East side of the island (we'll be staying on the South shore, but Kauai's only about 30 miles long) and is apparently a tranquil, navigable ride that meanders past lush jungles, and cascading falls.
        The second thing on the agenda is to go on a zip-line tour through some of Kauai's vast valleys. I want to get a
bird's-eye view of some of the beautiful landscape, and I
want to video tape it- for all of you! I hear it's supposed to be

simplified map of Kauai, HI

a very exhilarating experience to glide from one end of a valley to another, so I hope I don't drop my boyfriend's camera in all the excitement. My interest in zip-lining was first peaked by a documentary that I watched called Wild China by the BBC Natural History Unit. The six part series depicted remote villagers in the Yunnan province of southern China zip-lining across giant valleys with goods to sell in their local market. They carried fruits, rice, vegetables- even one very distraught goat! When I found out that I could try the same thing (minus the goat) in the forests of Kauai, I realized that I had to give it a go, so hopefully I'll be able to include a video of this event in the near future.
       However, this journey isn't all about me. Both my parents are going as well, they have some activities on their wish lists too. Traveling is often more fun, safer, and just better all around as something that is done in a group. Some of the best adventures I've ever had have spawned from the minds of my friends and family. Its taught me to be up for anything!
       My mom really wants to go see Waimea Canyon (aka, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific). Located on the West Shore, the canyon is 14 mi long, 1 mi wide, and 3600 feet deep. Its not as enormous as the Grand Canyon on the mainland, but its absolutely coated in tropical growth. This trip to Waimea Canyon not only sounds incredible, but it coincides with one of the things on my wish list- hiking in Kokee State Park. The park is just north of Waimea, so we should have a full day of exploring the forests, when we visit the West Shore.
       Lastly, the final, and most important of the major activities on our extensive schedule is to kick back, relax, and do some snorkeling on Poipu Beach, which if you recall, is within walking distance of our hotel. I've been snorkeling countless times before this trip, having grown up in a beach town. I have also snorkeled in Mexico, Aruba, Costa Rica, and The Grand Cayman Islands. I got the opportunity to interact with stingrays in the Caymans, so hopefully I'll spot some green sea turtles in Hawaii.

I'll be back to write about some local Hawaiian traditions and cuisine before we embark- until then!


   

Inaugural Blog, Hawaii Up Ahead, and Thailand in the Distance

                                                                                    Hi all!

First- allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sam, and I am 21 years of age (Just in case you sank into a zombie-like daze through the "about me" section). This is my first blog... that's right... ever *gasp!* so I imagine that the less naive I become about important blogging matters, the more this blog will change, and it will eventually grow from a baby blog into a big-boy blog, but for now I'm just going to start posting.

       

Oh look ^ its meeeeee!

This blog is going to be all about these things:

• Traveling
• Traveling on a budget
• Traveling as a student or young person
• Traveling as a female
• Traveling as a photographer
• So.... basically its about me trying to travel the world

      I can't promise much. I have but meager resources, funds, and experience, but I have fiery passion and spunk... that counts for something, right? Ok... moving on.

      If one writes a travel blog (or so I've heard) it doesn't necessarily mean they travel constantly (which is too bad, because I would love to be in Asia right now). Like the ordinary citizen I have two jobs (and school until I graduate in May) ---but don't think I would start this endeavor with nothing! I have goals and dreams, and a trip to Hawaii coming up in about 9 days. My family and I* are flying to the beautiful island of Kauai, HI on January 3rd, 2010. We're staying on the island for ten days (including two travel days). We'll be very close to Poipu beach, which I hear is very nice- you  know, white and sandy and whatnot. I'll include some photos so you can use them as desktop wallpaper _insert thumbs-up and wink here_.

       I have high hopes for this trip! I would like to visit Kipu Falls (a nearby swimming hole used by both locals and tourists), go kayaking, take a catamaran tour, go on a zip line trek through the forest, and try some local cuisine. However, as most travelers come to understand, plans often have a way of dissolving and/or evolving once you reach your destination, so we'll see what happens!

       I'll write in more detail about the upcoming trip a bit later, but before I go I want to share my first travel goal with you. I want to go to Thailand- desperately. I want to experience a radically different culture than my own. I want to see, hear and smell the essence of the Eastern hemisphere. I want to travel so far across the globe that I don't even recognize myself anymore. I have saved $105.35 from tips at work (I started saving on Dec 1), I've purchased a travel guide, and I've started my research. I estimate that, including airfare, the trip should cost $3,000+. Yikes!

But I'll save all this for another time, because its almost midnight on Christmas eve.

Later- Sam

*(that's right, I didn't have to save up for this one-which also leads me to my first tip: free things are usually good)